E 

lo5 

.B33 



C^ 



atlg y0gagi|$ to imcri^a. 



A PAPER READ BEFORE THE 



QJlhobc 35slan& ^isioricctl ^ocietg 



BY 



James Phinney Baxter, A. M. 




PROVIDENCE : 

PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY. 

1889. 




Glass ^ ^ ^-"^ 

Book ' "^^^ 



^atlg ^ogci0i^5 to ^^mcrittu 



A PAPER READ HKFORK THE 



QJlho&c ^^Idjxb Qj-Cistoinccil. -Socictu 



lAMES Phinxey Baxter, A. M. 




PR(»\"II)ENCE : 

PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY, 

18S9. 






^ , ^,H<xJ-. ^^>^ 



PRESS OF C. H. BUFFINGTON, 

TAUNTON, MASS, 



Note from the Society. 



This valuable monograph on American history was read by 
Mr. Baxter, at a meeting of the Rhode Island Historical So- 
ciety, held in its Cabinet, March 0. 1888. when its author, a 
corresponding member of the Society, received, on motion of the 
H%n. Royal C. Taft seconded by the Rev. S. L. Caldwell, D. D., 
a unanimous vote of thanks for his elaborate and scholarly 
paper. The branch of the subject relating to the voyages of 
the Xorthmen awakened much interest among members of the Society 
half a century ago, and the general interest therein is illustrated by 
works published by the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries at Copen- 
hagen, which, though on the shelves of our library, are practically 
beyond the reach of most of our members, being in a foreign language 
with which thev are not familiar. 



Introduction. 



The following account of Early Voyages to America was 
prepared in order to place before an audience in a somewhat 
popular form, a subject requiring for its proper exposition, 
much larger space and more critical treatment. 

This statement should disarm the criticism of scholars, 
and explain to those who have made an exhaustive study of 
the various phases of the subject, and to whom nothing that 
I am able to present can be novel, the raisoii cf ctrc of this 
publication, made by friends, who have thought it of sufficient 
interest to be put in type. 

Novelty in the method of identifying places described in 
the Sagas is disclaimed, and the casual reader is reminded 
that this branch of the subject is purely conjectural; at the 
same time, the accuracy with which the Sagas describe local- 
ities about and in the vicinity of Rhode Island, Nantucket, 
Cape Cod and Massachusetts Bay, is so remarkable as to be 
entitled to most careful consideration. 

James Phinxev I^wtek. 
Portland, August, 1889. 



EARLY VOYAGES TO AMERICA. 



READ HKKORE THK 

Rhode Island Historical Society, 

hy 

James Phinney Baxter. 



The history of this Continent prior to its discovery by 
Europeans is veiled in mystery. There are many dim al- 
lusions of voyages made to it by adventurers, to be found in 
ancient writings, but nothing of a strictly definite nature 
prior to the fifteenth century ; for hitherto, the great ocean 
which beat upon the western shores of Europe, bore appro- 
priately the title of the Sea of Darkness, on account of the 
absence of knowledge respecting it by the civilized World. 

Speculations too chimerical to be profitably considered, 
have been indulged in by fanciful writers respecting the 
colonization of our Continent. Athanasias Kircher has given 
the Egyptians the credit of colonizing it,^ basing his argu- 
ment upon the religious worship found here ; while Edward 
Brerewood contends upon linguistic grounds, that the Tartars 
are entitled to that credit ;- and Marc Lescarbot, with a faith 



6 RHODE ISLAND H ISTOK ICA I. SOCIKTV. 

almost enviable, strives to show, that the Canaanites, driven 
out by Joshua, emigrated hither ; that Noah was a native of 
this country, and was borne back to his ancestral home by 
the flood.'^ 

The first real!)' serious attempt, however, to trace geo- 
graphically a voyage to this Continent, has been made by 
De Guignes,* who, basing his arguments upon the historian 
Li Yen, contends that the Chinese reached our western 
shores from Asia in the seventh century. This view has 
been considered of sufficient importance to engage the atten- 
tion of several able writers, who have opposed it with vary- 
ing degrees of ability/' That this Continent was inhabited in 
prehistoric times b}' a race of men of a very different type 
from the red men whom our forefathers found here is evi- 
dent from the remarkable remains which are found so 
abundantly throughout the West. 

Of these earth works particularly, many are of such 
remarkable extent as to strike the beholder with 
wonder. Those at Marietta, in Ohio, co\'er an area 

of three - fourths of a mile in length b}' half a mile 
in breadth, and consist of two immense squares, one 
containing fift)', and the other tvventy-se\'en acres, the 
walls of the larger being nearl}' six feet in height 
and more than twenty feet broad at the base. Near by is 
an ellij^tical structure thirty-five feet high enclosed by a cir- 
cular wall. Within the larger enclosure are four truncated 
pyramids ; three being approached by graded passage ways 
to their summits, and from the south wall runs a graded way 
to the Muskingum valley six hundred feet in length by over 



EAKLV V()\A(;E.S to AMERICA. / 

one hundred and fifty feet in breadth. So thick were similar 
work.s where the City of St. Louis now stands that it was 
called Mound City. A i;roup between Alton and St. Louis 
contained as many as sixty structures." 

One of these works in the form of a parallelogram, 
ninety feet in height, with sides at the base respectively .seven 
hundred and five hundred feet in length, and a terrace on the 
Southwest one hundred and sixty by three hundred feet, was 
reached by a graded way, the summit being truncated and 
affording a platform two hundred by four hundred and fifty 
feet. L^pon this platform was a small mound about ten feet 
high, containing human bones, vases, and stone implements. 

It is supposed that a temple once stood (m the plattorm, 
and that the rites of the priests could be beheld by the mul- 
titudes below. In many of the mounds have been found cists 
covered with slabs of limestone, enclosing skeletons, and often 
at the head of the skeletons beautiful specimens of pottery, 
statuettes, urns and drinking vessels. 

Isle Royal and the Northern shores of Lake Superior 
are the Northwestern limits where these works of a lost 
people are found. A recent writer says, ^that "the Mound 
builders were in the distinctive character of their structures, 
as marked a people as the Pelasgi, whose prehistoric works 
can yet be traced throughout Greece and Italy. These 
Pelasgi were the Wall Builders, for wherever they went 
they threw up fortifications made of polygonal blocks. So 
we can trace the Mound builders by their structures from 



5 RHODE ISLAM) HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

the shores of the great lakes to the milder regions of the 
Gulf of Mexico and Central America." 

Besides articles of pottery often of elegant designs, 
there are found in the mounds remains of textile fabrics. 
The Indians found here by the early voyagers did not possess 
such articles, nor were they capable of erecting such works ; 
but if any farther proofs were wanting that they were not the 
builders of these mounds, it wTnild be found in the character 
of the skulls found in them, which craniologists declare are 
entirely unlike those of the red men ; but whence these peo- 
ple came, or to what race they belonged, is at j^resent 
unknown. 

To attempt to unravel these mysteries is not our pres- 
ent purpose, nor to indulge in speculations regarding them, 
which have already been too abundant. We have called at- 
tention briefly to the claims of Kircher, Krerewood, Lescar- 
bot, and De Guignes, respecting the first voyagers hither 
from the eastern hemisphere, and we now come to another 
claim in fax'or of a Scandinavian occupation of our eastern 
shores as earl)' as the latter part of the tenth centur\'. 

The first allusion to this subject was made in the eccle- 
siastical history of Adam ^'on l^remen, written prcA'ious to 
the year 1073.'' Earl}- in the thirteenth centur\' the 
Chronicles of the Kings of Nt)rway were written,'' when 
it was again alluded to. It was not, however, until 1705, 
that Thormodus Torfeus treated the subject j^articu- 
larly -^^ yet it failed to attract attention until about fifty 
years ago, when historical students began to study it. 



KAKi.V \()\A(;K.S to AMERICA. ^9 

About this time the Royal Society of Northern Anti- 
quaries began its investigations of old manuscripts which 
might throw light upon history and antiquities. Among 
these manuscripts were certain Sagas containing accounts 
of voyages made to a western land, called Vinland. 

The Saga grew out of a desire to perpetuate the memory 
of great achievements, and was at first oral. That they 
might run smoothh' and be more readily committed to mem- 
ory, many were turned into poetic measure by Saga-men. 

These Saga-men were the literati of their time, and 
were trained to relate accuratel}' and in an attractive manner, 
the traditional history of the past. The events related in 
the Sagas with which we have to do, took place mostly dur- 
ing the early part of the ele\enth centur}- ; but written lan- 
o'uao'e had not been introduced into Iceland until about the 
middle of the twelfth century, or about a century and a half 
after these events took ]Dlace. It was so difficult, however, 
to obtain prepared skins, and the process of writing was so 
slow and costly, that not many Sagas were written out until 
the thirteenth centur}-. These written Sagas were subse- 
quently collected and placed in the libraries of Copenhagen 
and Stockholm. 

A great variety of subjects are treated in these Sagas, 
which comprise poems, stories, memoirs and historical narra- 
tives ; but it is as easy to distinguish history from fiction in 
these ancient works as it is in modern ones. 

Of course, in the Sagas occasionally occur statements of 
a somewhat marvelous nature, but not more so than in the 



lO RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

accounts of voyages of a much later date, which are regarded as 
history ; indeed, for the most part, the narratives are given in 
such a simple and natural manner, and with such an appar- 
ent regard for strict accuracy, as to commend themselves 
to the reader. The most minute incidents are carefully 
related, and events based upon mere hearsay are given as 
such." 

At first the claims of the Swedish Antiquaries met with 
vigorous opposition. Their opponents contended in some 
cases, that there should have been found well defined re- 
mains of a Scandinavian occupation if there had been one, 
and even appealed to the works of the mound builders as ex- 
amples to show that the inhabitants of a country, if they 
become extinct, leave behind them works to bear witness to 
their former existence. 

This argument, however, lacked force, since the Scan- 
dinavians were not in the habit of building earth works, 
— the most permanent under certain conditions of the works 
of man, — and as it is not claimed that they ever made any 
considerable settlements here, it is hardly to be supposed, 
that such structures as they would have been likely to erect, 
would survive the destroying energy of three centuries, amid 
a barbarous and destructive people. 

We know that the settlement at the mouth of the 
Sagadahoc by the Popham Colonists, which consisted of a 
fort and fifty habitations, wholly disappeared within a cen- 
tury ; as well as Christopher Levet's strong house in Port- 
land Harbor, and other similar structures in New England. 



EARLY VOYAGES TO AMERICA. 



I I 



But the enthusiastic advocates of a Scandinavian 
-occupancy of the American Continent were looking 
about them for such evidences as their opponents 
required to satisfy their doubt, and the first object which 
•engaged their attention was the old tower at Newport, 




f^^SSh 



"My Stone Lmilt Wiiuliiiill"— in will of (iov. Ainold, Newport, R. I. 

which so well represents the mode of building by the Norse 
people of about the twelfth century, and concerning the origin 
of which no satisfactory explanation existed until recently ; 



12 



RHODE ISLAM) II ISIOKILAL SOCIK'IV, 



but we now know that it was l:)uilt by Governor Benedict 
Arnold, about the year 1676,'- and was copied from a 
similar structure still standina; in his native town in Encrland. 




.Mill at the early home of Gov. lUiudirt Arnold, Chestertou, Kii'j.laml. 

This was followed by the discovery, near l^^all River,, 
of the skeleton of a man, who had apparently been 
buried in armor. A part of the breast-plate found with 
this skeleton was at once forwarded for analysis to 
Berzelius. the noted Swedish chemist. Berzelius pro- 



EAKLV V()VA(iKS JO AMKKICA. 13 

noiinced it to be similar to Northern armor of the tenth 
century, and his analysis showed it to be composed 
of zinc, copper, lead, tin and iron, a composition nearly 
identical with that of the bronze of that period. 

Attention was also directed to the body which the Pil- 
grims dui;- up shortly after their landing, which is spoken of 
by Bradford, and is also to be found in Mourts' Relation. ^^ 

"The next morning we followed certain beaten pathes 
and tracts of the Indians into the woods,— as we came into 
the plaine ground we found a place like a grave, but it was 
much bigger and longer than any we had yet seen. It was 
also covered with boards, so as we mused what it should be, 
and resolved to digge it up, where we found, first a Matt and 
under that a faire Bow, and then another Matt', and under 
that a boord about three quarters long, finely carved and 
paynted, with three tynes or brooches on the top like a 
Crowne ; also, between the Matts we found Boules, Trayes, 
Dishes and such like Trinkets ; at length we came to a faire 
new Matt, and under that two bundles, the one bigger, the 
other lesse. We opened the greater and found in it a great 
quantity of fine and perfect red Powder, and in it the bones 
and skull of a man. The skull had fine yellow haire still on 
it, and some of the flesh was consumed ; there was bound 
up with it a knife, a pack needle and two or three old iron 
things. 

It was bound up in a saylers canvas casake, and a payre 
of cloth breeches ; the red powder was a kind of lunbaul- 
ment, and yeelded a strong but no offensive smell : It was 
as fine as any flower. We opened the lesse bundle likewise, 



14 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETV. 

and found of the same powder in it, and the bones and head 
of a little childe, about the leggs and other parts of it was 
bound strings, and bracelets of fine white Beads ; there was 
also by it, a little bow, about three quarters long, and some 
other odd knackes ; we brought sundry of the prettiest 
things away with us, and covered the corps up againe. 

There was varietie of opinions amongst us about the 
embalmed person ; some thought it was an Indian Lord or 
King ; others sayd, the Indians have all blacke hayre, and 
never any was seene with browne or yellow hayre ; some 
thought it was a Christian of some special note, which had 
dyed amongst them, and they thus buried him to honor him." 

Those who claimed that this was the body of a Norse- 
man called attention to the yellow hair, which so much ex- 
cited the wonder of the Pilgrims, and which is the distin- 
guishing mark of the Scandinavian people, and insisted that 
the piece of wood "three quarters long, finely carved and 
paynted, with three tynes or brooches on the top like a 
crowne," was the three tined staff called the rymstock or 
runic staff of the Norsemen. 

The mode of burial, too, with mats and domestic uten- 
sils, they claimed to be identical with the mode of burial 
among these people. When asked to account for the new 
mat they replied, "The body was embalmed and still nothing 
hardly but the skeleton was remaining, and therefore the 
statement must be wrong in this respeci. 

Doubtless this skeleton was in soil near some lime stone 
spring, or of a nature to preserve it for a long time, as well 
as the textile fabrics, it being well known that such things 
have been preserved for ages in favorable localities." Hence, 



EARLY VOVACJES TO AMERICA. 



15 



they said, "some of the things may have appeared newer by 
comparison, while the very circumstances of the case show 
that they could not have been new." 




But the Dighton Rock of all these supposed relics of 
Norse origin, furnished in the estimation of the advocates of 
a Scandinavian occupation the best evidence in support of 
their claims.'^ 



l6 RHODE ISLAND 11 IST( )KIC.\ I. SOClinV. 

Runic scholars pronounced it a i;'enuinc relic, and Prof. 
Rafn, in the first glow of zeal, gave the World a translation. 
This rock is on the shore of Taunton River, and has been a 
puzzle to antiquarians. 

Prof. Rafn has translated it as follows : " Thorfinn, 
with one hundred and fifty-one Norse sea-faring men, took 
possession of this land." 

Edward Everett, in the North American Review, said 
after studying the subject, "That the rock contains some 
rude delineations of the figures of men and animals is appar- 
ent on the first inspection. The import of the other deline- 
ations and characters is more open to doubt. By some per- 
sons the characters are regarded as Phctnician. The late 
Mr. Samuel Harris, a very learned Orientalist, thought he 
found the Hebrew word mclck (King) in these characters. 

Colonel Valiancy considers them to be Scythian, and 
Messrs. Rafn and Magnussen think them undoubtedly Runic. 
In this great diversity of judgment, a decision is extremely 
difficult."'' Everett's opinion is probably that of most stu- 
dents to-day. 

A curious allusion to the Dighton Rock is to be found 
in the Sloane Manuscripts in the British Museum, and 
should be noted. In a letter to Sir Hans Sloane, from Cam- 
bridge, December i8, 1730, are drawings of the inscriptions 
upon the rock made by the Rev. Mr. Fisher and others, and 
this statement: "There was a Tradition current among ye 
Eldest Indians that there came a Wooden House (and men 
of another country in it) who fought ye Indians with mighty 
success, &c." "This," says the writer, "I think evidently 



EAKLV VOYAGES TO AMERICA. 1/ 

shows that this monument was esteemed by ye Oldest In- 
dians, not only very antique, but a Work of a different 
Nature from any of theirs." In another place this writer 
adds, "They slew yr Saunchem." 

This is certainly important, for it is to be observed that 
the opinion that the inscription upon the Pighton Rock was 
not the work of the Indians, was put forth more than a cen- 
tury before the Norse voyages to this region were discussed. 

In studying the Dighton Rock, however, several diffi- 
culties present themselves. The inscription upon it has 
been copied at various times during the past two centuries, 
and the differences between the copies are many and strik- 
ing. Lines appear in the later copies which one seeks for 
in vain in earlier ones, while in these, one finds other lines 
which do not exist in later copies. 

This cannot be accounted for wholly upon the ground 
of carelessness in copying. There is too much method in 
some of the changes, suggesting that irreverent hands have 
assisted from time to time since the discovery of the rock by 
Europeans, in the evolution of certain figures, while nature 
herself has expunged and added many other lines. 

This may be said to be the case with certain claimed to 
be Norse writings upon the Maine coast, which an old resi- 
dent in the vicinity averred that he, when a boy, assisted by 
other boys, made upon the rocks, from time to time, for 
.sport. Natural lines and seams were brought together and 
united by artificial scratches, and such additions made as 
comported with the fancies of the rock artists. 



1 5 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

As for the Dighton Rock, it is in any view of the case a 
remarkable relic, which may well engage our attention, 
though we should be careful not to claim too much for it ; 
indeed had not the early friends of the Scandinavian theory 
placed so much dependence upon this and other curious 
relics, it is probable that they would have met with less 
opposition. 

This opposition was active for a time, our careful his- 
torian, Bancroft, being one of the most energetic of these 
opponents. Perhaps it may be well to quote his own words. 
He says in the first chapter of his History of the United 
States : "The national pride of an Icelandic historian has 
indeed claimed for his ancestors the glory of having discov- 
ered the Western hemisphere. The geographical details are 
too vague to sustain a conjecture ; the accounts of the mild 
winter and fertile soil are on any modern hypothesis, fictions 
or exaggerations ; the description of the natives applies only 
to the Esquimaux, inhabitants of hyperborean regions ; the 
remark which should define the shortest winter's day has 
received interpretations, adapted to every latitude from New 
York to Cape Farewell, and Vinland has been sought in all 
directions from Greenland and the St. Lawrence to Africa. 

Imagination has conceived the idea that vast inhabited 
regions lay unexplored in the West ; and poets have de- 
clared, that empires beyond the ocean would, one day, be 
revealed to the daring navigator. 

But Columbus deserves the undivided glory of having 
realized that belief. "^*^ 

Certainly, with Bancroft, we must all render homage to 
Columbus for his great and heroic efforts in bringing the 



EARLY VOYAGES TO AMERICA. ' 1 9 

Western Continent to the attention of the Nations of Eu- 
rope ; at the same time, we should not fail to render what- 
ever credit may be due to those who preceded him but 
who made their discoveries at a time when the world was not 
ready to avail itself of them. This will in no wise detract 
from the honor due to the great Genoese navigator. 

In spite, however, of all the opposition which has been 
made, there is to-day among historical students, an almost 
general consensus of opinion in favor of the validity of the 
Scandinavian claims, and this opinion is the result of a care- 
ful study of the documents themselves, which bear many in- 
ternal evidences of their truthfulness. 

Before examining them, however, let us glance briefly 
at a few historical facts preceding them ; the discovery of 
Iceland by Naddodd, and of Greenland by Erik the Red, 
which show what daring navigators these Northmen were. 

Naddodd, a viking or piratical trader, was the first re- 
corded discoverer of Iceland. Returning from Norway in 
the year 861, he was blown by a violent tempest from his 
course. While lost in a boundless waste of waters, he saw 
through the gloom the high hills of a strange land rising 
from the bosom of the sea, and entering a bay, afterwards 
known as Reider Fiord, he climbed a mountain to survey 
the Country, hoping to find it inhabited ; but no sign of 
human beings was discoverable. Three years later, one 
Gardar, a Swede, was driven to the same land, and wintered 
there. 

The fame of' these discoveries spread abroad, and caused 
an adventurous seaman named Floki to set out on its ex- 



20 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

ploration. Taking with him three crows, he touched at 
Shetland and Faroe, and after saiHng a long distance from 
the latter place, he let one of the birds escape, which flew 
away in the direction of the land left. Judging from this 
that Faroe ^' was still the nearest land, he continued his voy- 
age, after a while loosing another bird, which, rising high in 
the air and circling about a while, returned to the ship, 
seeing no place whither it might fly for rest. The third 
bird, which he released several days later, however, flew 
away from the ship, and following its flight, he soon came in 
sight of the wished-for land. 

Here he passed two winters, but becoming discouraged 
at the loss of his cattle, for which he had not gathered 
sufficient food during the summer, he returned to Norway. 

The first permanent colony was planted in Iceland by 
Ingolf. Ingolf and Leif were cousins, whose families had 
long been united by common troubles, and were about to 
become more closely united by the marriage of Leif with 
Helga, the fair sister of his friend and cousin. At a feast 
given by the cousins to the three rough sons of Atli Jarl, 
with whom they had been in an evil hour co-partners in an 
expedition, Holmstein, one of Atli's sons, who was a rude 
and quarrelsome fellow, declared that he would wed Helga 
and none other. This led to a battle, in which Holmstein 
was slain. 

The cousins, being shortly after attacked by another of 
the brothers, slew him, also, and for these acts they were 
banished, and set sail for the strange land which Naddodd 
had discovered, and of which they had often heard. 



KAKI.V V()VA(;ES to AMERICA. 21 

The cousins reached this land in 870. Ingulf, in the 
Spring of the year 871, returned to Norway to dispose of his 
effects there, and to get some of his friends to return with 
him, while Leif made a voyage to Ireland ; voyages being 
not uncommon at this period between Norway and Ireland ; 
whence he returned with an immense booty. 

Ingolf induced many of his friends to undertake with 
him the foundation of a colony in this new country, and in 
874, he, with a number of his countrymen, set sail from 
Norway without chart or comjxiss, and boldly steered his 
little ship out into the broad and unknown ocean in search 
of a new home. Ingolf took with him the pillars of his old 
home, and when approaching" the coast, threw them over- 
board, that he might be guided by them to a favorable place 
for his new abode. But a storm came on, and, losing them, 
he was obliged to land on the Southeastern shore, at a place 
named for him, Ingolfshofde, where he and his party erected 
habitations, and there remained for three years, at the end 
of which time, some of Ingolf 's servants having found the 
pillars on the beach near what is known as Reikiavik, the 
present capital, he removed thither. 

Thus was Iceland permanently settled in the year 874. 
It is a strange fact connected with this early settlement of 
Iceland, that the Landnamabok or Land Roll of the first 
settlers, states that they found Christians there, men called 
Papae, who, it is said, came from the West over the Sea, 
and with them Irish books and many other things, whence it 
was known that they were Westmen, as the Irishmen were 
called. 



22 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

The venerable Bede, who flourished in the eighth cen- 
tury, says, that in his time, expeditions were made to Iceland, 
and it is said that these things, meaning such things as the 
first settlers in Iceland found among the people they called 
Papae, have been found in the Isle of Papse, on the East 
coast of Iceland, and at Papylio. This shows what frequent 
and e.\tensi\'e voyages were made by Europeans at this earl)- 
day. 

Thus far we have followed history, ^'^ but from this point 
we will follow the Icelandic Sagas. ^•' 

A century after the settlement of Iceland, Erik, sur- 
named the Red, who, with his Eather, Thorvald, had been 
banished from Norway for slaying a man, and who had set- 
tled in Iceland, having in his new home again killed a man 
in a quarrel, was banished from Iceland, and fitting out a 
vessel he sailed Westward in search of the Rocks of Gunni- 
born, rocky islands, which, it was said, one Gunniborn had 
seen to the West of Iceland. 

P2rik told his friends that if he found these islands he 
would re-visit them. After sailing Westward many days, he 
at last came in sight of land, which he spent some time in ex- 
ploring. This was in the year 982. Having found a suitable 
spot for habitation, he set out on his return voyage, which 
he accomi:)lished in safety. He gave glowing accounts of 
the new country which he had discovered, misnaming it Green- 
land, unless he named it from his credulous friends, and finall}' 
induced a number of the people, with whom he appears to 
have been popular, to accompany him. 

He therefore set sail with twenty-five ships from Ice- 
land ; fourteen of which only reached Greenland, the others 



EARLY VOYAGES TO AMERICA. 23 

having been lost or blown back to Iceland. Among those 
who accompanied Erik was Heriulf, who was a worthy de- 
scendant of Ingolf, the early settler of Iceland. This Heriulf 
had a son, Bjarni Heriulf son, who, when his father sailed 
with his friend Erik, was away in Norway. 

This Bjarni, it seems, was an adventurous spirit, a 
thorough seaman, and possessed with a great desire to see 
strange lands, and at this time had obtained considerable 
renown and wealth. His winters were passed alternately 
abroad and with his father in Iceland. Coming back in the 
Summer to Iceland, he was surprised to find that his father 
and his men had gone with Erik to the new country. West, 
and he at once set out in search of him, saying that he 
meant to pass the Winter with his father as usual, wherever 
he was. 

With Bjarni was a Christian from the Hebrides, we 
are told, and this man is not again alluded to, except that 
when passing a dangerous whirlpool, he is said to have sung 
a hymn. At this time Bjarni and his crew had not been 
converted to Christianity, and they probably regarded a 
Christian as somewhat of a curiosity. The very simplicity 
of this allusion to the man of a strange belief, and to the 
natural incident of his singing a hymn when in danger, may 
certainly be properly pointed out as one of the internal evi- 
dences of the truth of the narrative. 

Eor three days they sailed with a fair wind, until land 
was lost to view, when strong Northeasterly winds sprang 
up, and dismal fogs prevailed. For many days they were 
driven forward, till at length, the weather clearing, they saw 



24 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETV. 

the sky again, and driving on another day they descried land. 
The sailors wanted to know of Bjarni if this was Greenland, 
but he was evidently too good a navigator to think it was, 
and, approaching nearer, he was well satisfied that it was 
not, since unlike Greenland, this country was not mountain- 
ous, which was to them a striking fact, as nearly all the 
countries they knew were. 

This land was covered with forests and had rising 
ground in many parts. Leaving it to the left, they put 
about with the stern of the ship towards the land and sailed 
on this course two days, when they again saw land. The 
sailors asked Bjarni if this was Greenland, but he said that 
it could not be, " Because in Greenland are said to be very 
high ice hills." This land was low and thickly covered with 
wood. The sailors wanted to land, but the prudent Bjarni 
would not permit this, though they clamored loudly and tried 
to make him believe that they were short of wood and water. 

Doubtless he was afraid that if they once landed it 
would take a long time to get them on board again ; besides, 
the season was getting late, and unknown perils were before 
him ; so, refusing the pressing entreaties of his men, he 
pushed on to the Northeast, and after three days' sailing 
again made land. They coasted along its shore till he per- 
ceived that it was an island. Then he put the ship about 
with its stern towards the land, and stood out to sea, with 
the wind from the Southwest, which soon increased so that 
they were obliged to shorten sail. So they sped on for four 
days, when a mountainous land appeared in sight, and this 
proved to be Greenland, where he found his father, and there 
abode with him that Winter, 985-6. . 



EARLV VOYAGES TC) AMERICA. 25 

Of course the discovery of a land Southwest of Green- 
land caused a great deal of discussion, and Bjarni was much 
blamed, especially in Norway, where he afterwards went, for 
not pushing his exploration further. It was left, however, to 
Leif, the eldest son of Erik, to attempt the voyage. 

Visiting Norway in 999, Leif embraced Christianity, 
under the persuasive influence of King Olaf Tryggvason. 
At the Court of this monarch, the discovery of Bjarni, Leif's 
friend, was doubtless often discussed and his course cen- 
sured. Leif determined to attempt the voyage himself, and 
with this purpose in mind, he returned to Greenland with his 
men, who had all embraced Christianity. Thus in the year 
999 was Christianity introduced into (jreenland by Leif 
Erikson, who, from what is related of him, was a man of noble 
character and bearing. Reaching home, his first business was 
to purchase his friend Bjarni's vessel, which, it appears, was a 
good one for such a hazardous undertaking, and, with a crew 
of thirty-five men, he, without chart or compass, set sail in 
search of the new land which Bjarni had seen to the South- 
west. 

Of course he was not impelled by unselfish motives, for 
rumor magnified in those days the wealth of all new coun- 
tries. It is said that Erik, his father, had determined to ac- 
company him on his dangerous voyage, but at the last 
moment refused, though urgently pressed by his son, giving 
as an excuse a slight accident"-" which had just happened to 
him, a trifling incident, but such a one as would hardly have 
been created by a romancer, who could have easily invented 
something: of a much more startling character. One of Leif's 



26 RHt)DE ISLAXI) HISTORICAL SOCIETY'. 

crew was a man from the South country ; that is, Germany. 
The name of this man was Tyrker, which signifies the Ger- 
man, whom we shall find further along in the narrative, 
appearing- in a characteristic manner. 

Following the description given of his course by Bjarni, 
Leif finally made land, and going ashore, examined it. 
Above were frozen heights ; no herbage appeared, and the 
whole space between the heights and the sea was covered 
with bare flat rocks. Leif named this forbidding country 
Helluland ; that is, flat-stone-land, and then put to sea, fol- 
lowing the track which Bjarni had described. Rafn supposes 
this to have been Newfoundland, and to one who has been 
upon the coast, the description of Leif appears strikingly 
accurate. Continuing his course, Leif again made land, which 
he describes as Bjarni describes it, as being flat and well wood- 
ed, though he omits the small heights which Bjarni mentions. 
Leif, however, unlike Bjarni, landed and saw more. 

He says that the shores were low, and that they saw 
about them wide stretches of white sand, which is a very 
important addition to Bjarni's statement, and tends to iden- 
tify the country with Nova Scotia, as the white sands and 
long, level appearance of the hills from the sea, are particu- 
larly noted by modern voyagers along the Nova Scotia coast. 
The very differences in the two accounts of Bjarni and Leif 
tend to establish the truthfulness of both, since these 
differences naturally grow out of the different circumstances 
under which they beheld the country. 

"This land," said Leif, "shall be named after its qualities 
and called Markland," that is, Woodland. Again they sailed 



KARL\ \'OVAGE.S TO AMEKfCA. 2y 

two (lays, when they again made land, and approaching, 
touched at an island, which lay opposite the easterly part of 
the main land. 

They found the air remarkably pleasant, and noticed 
that the grass was covered with dew, which, touching acci- 
dentally and conveying to the mouth, was found to be sweet 
to the taste. What was this island ? Starting from the 
sandy shores of Cape Sable, with a northwesterly wind, the 
first land fall would probably be Cape Cod or the Island of 
Nantucket. Changes are supposed to have taken place in 
this region, owing to the action of the Gulf Stream, which 
have reduced the prominence of the eastern jjortion of the 
promontory, and worn away islands which formerly existed 
in the vicinity. 

The sweet dew mentioned may have been caused by 
Aphides, and is sometimes so abundant, says Brande, as to 
fall from the leaves in drops. Its existence, therefore, is not 
a myth, as some critics have supposed. 

Returning to the ship, they sailed into a sound which 
lay between the island and the promontory, which ran out 
from the land eastwardly, and steered westerly past it. 
At ebb tide, the shallows were so great that, says the Saga, 
"it was far to see from the ship to the water," but they were 
so eager to land that they did not wait for the rising tide, 
but ran on shore at a place where a river flowed out of a 
lake ; but upon the flood tide they floated their ship up the 
river and into the lake. 

There could hardly be a more exact description made by 
a person, who, after passing the promontor}- and the mouth 



28 RHODE ISLAND HISTDKICAL SOCIETV. 

of Buzzard's Bay, should take the Seaconnet passage and 
Pocasset River into Mount Hope Bay. It is said that after 
counselling together, they concluded to pass the winter 
there, and at once began building habitations. They 
found abundance of salmon in both river and lake, and 
thought that the nature of the country was such that cattle 
would not require to be housed in Winter. They also ob- 
served that the day and night were more equal than in 
Greenland or Iceland ; the sun on the shortest day being 
above the horizon from half past seven in the morning until 
half past four in the afternoon. 

Both of the foregoing statements have met with opposi- 
tion. We have seen that Bancroft has objected, that the 
description of the climate of Vinland does not apply to the 
climate of Rhode Island. The e.xact words of the Saga are, 
"They thought that the nature of the country was so good 
that cattle would not require house feeding in Winter ; for 
there came no frost in Winter, and little did the grass wither 
there. " 

There can be no doubt that people coming from the icy 
shores of Greenland, would find in such a locality as Mount 
Hope Bay a most agreeable change from the extreme rigors 
to which they had been accustomed, and would be likely 
to exaggerate the mildness of the climate. A writer, 
a few years since, in describing this region, has said, 
that in "most winters a scanty substance might be procured 
for cattle, but this could not be depended upon. Farmers 
generally house their cattle in Winter. We do not consider 
it absolutely necessary, though a prudent husbandman will 



KAKI.N \()V.\(,I-:S lO AMllKICA. 29 

do it. Some individuals in that vicinity do not shelter their 
sheej), and say they thrive well and become robust."-' 

With ret;ard to the length of the day, which would indi- 
cate the latitude of the place, much has been written. When 
Bancroft wrote, he was probabl}' infiuenced in his opinion by 
the fact that TorfcTeus, in calculating;- the latitude of the place 
where Leif wintered, fixed it in Newfoundland, an error 
which is now known to have resulted from a misinterpre- 
tation. Rafn has calculated the latitude to be 41 degrees, 
24 minutes, 10 seconds, which is in the vicinity of Mount 
Hope Bay. It is certainly remarkable that with their im- 
perfect method of calculating time, the Norsemen should 
have been so accurate in their statement. 

Having "done with house building," sa\s the narrati\e, 
Leif divided his men into two companies, which were to take 
turns dail}' in exploring and guarding the common property. 
The exploring party was under orders to always return at 
night, and never to separate. Leif, it is said, "was a great 
and strong man, grave and well faxored, therewith sensible 
and moderate in all things." 

Upon an e\ening when the expk)rers returned, it was 
found that one of the party was missing. This was Tvrker, 
the German. He had long been with Leif's father, and had 
been loved b}- Leif from his childhood, hence the lattei- was 
greatly disturbed at his absence, and sharply chided his men 
for losing sight of him. Taking twelve men he started in 
search of Tyrker, but had not gone far when he met the old 
man returning. Leif joyfully received him, but perceived 
that he was in an excited condition of mind, and enquired 



30 RHODE ISLAND HISTOKIL.\I- SOCIETV. 

\vh\ he was out so late, and ln)\v he became sejDarated from 
the party. Tyrker at first repeated some German words, 
rolling his eves and twisting his mouth, and then answered 
in Norse, "I have not been much further off. but still ha\'e 
I something new to tell of ; I found \-ines and grapes." 
"But is that true, my foster father.^" asked Leif. "Surely 
is it true," replied he, "for I was bred up in the land where 
there is no want of either wine or grapes." 

This incident has been especially ridiculed, yet its 
simplicity is an argument in favor of its truth. Tyrker 
is represented as^ nervous man, with a high forehead, un- 
steady eyes, a freckled face, and of small stature ; but a 
skilled artisan. He had not seen grapes for many years, 
and the discovery of them naturally occasioned great joy. 
What explanation is more reasonable, than that the excitable 
old man should repeat in German, sayings learned in youth 
in praise of the grape, of which many abound in the Ger- 
man tongue .' 

The next morning Leif set his men at work gathering 
grapes, cutting vines and felling trees with which to load the 
ship. The long boat it is said he caused to be filled with 
grapes. "Now." says the narrative, "was a cargo cut down 
for the ship, and when Spring came they got ready and sail- 
ed away ; and Leif gave the land a name after its qvialities 
and called it Vinland." 

Having put to sea with a fair wind, they at length came 
in sight of Greenland. As they approached, one of Leifs 
men asked him why he steered so close to the wind, and 
was answered, that he was doing more than steering as 



EAKLV \ OVACiES TO AMERICA. 3 I 

he saw somcthiiii;-, but was not sure whether it was a ship or 
a rock. l^resently however, his quick eye saw that it was a 
rock and men upon it. 

Goinj;' to the assistance of the men, Tyrker asked, as 
Leif brought his ship to anchor near the rock, the name of 
their leader, and was told that it was Thorer, a Norwegian b)- 
birth. Thorer in turn asked the name of the Captain of 
the ship which had come to his rescue and was told that it 
was Leif the son of I^rik the Red of Brattahlid. I.eif then 
kindly took Thorer and his men, fifteen in all, on board with 
as many of their goods as possible and sailed for home. 

Leif showed Thorer and his companions great hos- 
pitality and found employment for his men. For saving the 
lives of these people, as well probably as for his successful 
voyage, he was ever afterwards called Leif the lucky. This 
expedition contributed to his wealth and honor. 

During the following winter, Thorer and a number of 
his companions fell victims to a disease which iM'evailed in 
Greenland. Erik the Red, Leif's father, died also. 

Leif's successful voyage was much discussed, and Thor- 
vald his brother thought the new country had not been suf- 
ficiently explored, whereupon Leif gave him leave to go to 
Vinland, loaning his ship for the voyage, upon conditions 
that she should first go and bring the timber which had been 
left upon the rock when Thorer w^as wrecked, which was 
done. 

We now come to the voyage of Thorvald which took 
place in the Spring of 1002. Nothing is said of the 
incidents connected with it. We are only told that it was 



T,2 KIIODI': ISLAM) HISTORICAL S()CI^:'J'^■. 

propitious, and that the new World was reached in due time. 
Thor\-ald found the dwe]lin<;s which Leif had erected, and 
called them Leif s booths. 

Having" drawn their shij) on shore for safety, the Norse- 
men passed the W^inter there. In the SjDring, Thorvald had 
the ship put in order, and sent a crew in the long boat to 
explore. They found the land fair and well wooded along 
the coast, with white sand beaches, man\- islands and much 
shallow water. The only sign of habitation they found, was 
a wooden shed. 

The Summer was spent in e.xjiloration. The next sea- 
son, Thorvald took the ship and explored the coast "east- 
ward — and around to the land northward." This is a \er)' 
significant statement, as it is the tlirection they would be 
obliged to take in explorations from this j^oint towards the 
North. When off a ness, or promontory, a storm drove the 
ship ashore and the keel was broken from it. This Thor- 
vald set up on the promontory and called it Kialarness or 
Keel |K)int. 

They then sailed round the eastern shores and into the 
neighboring bays, until they reached a beautifully wooded 
point, where I'horvald landed exclaiming " Here is beautiful 
and here would I like to raise my dwelling." Shortly after 
they discovered three skin boats or canoes, and under each 
of them three natives. Eight of these they killed, but one 
escaped and gave the alarm to his friends in the vicinit}', 
who attacked the Norse ship in their canoes, and after a 
sharp battle were defeated. 



EARLV V0VA(;KS TO AMERICA. 33 

Thorvald, however, received a mortal wound from an 
arrow. Finding he wa.s about to die, he .said to his men, 
" Now counsel I ye that ye get ready in.stantly to depart, but 
ye shall bear me to that Cape, where I thought it best to 
dwell; it may be that a true word fell from my mouth, that I 
should dwell there for a time ; there shall ye bury me, and 
set up crosses at my head and feet, and call the place Kros- 
saness, for ever in all time to come." 

"Now Thorvald died," .says the Saga, "but they did all 
things according to his directions, and then went away, and 
returned to their companions, and told to each other the 
tidings which they knew, and dwelt there for the Winter and 
gathered grapes and vines to load the ship. But in the 
Spring, they made ready to sail to Greenland and came in 
their ship to Eriksfjord, and could now tell great tidings to 
Leif." 

Thorstein, the younger son of Krik, being possessed 
with a desire to go to Vinland to get the body of his brother 
Thorvald, fitted out the ship which Thorvald had sailed in, 
and with twenty-five men selected for their strength and 
stature, and his wife Gudride set out for Vinland. Through 
the entire summer they were tossed about by the sea, and 
driven about by contrary winds. It was not till the begin- 
ning of Winter that they made land, which they found to be 
on the West coast of Greenland, at a place called Lysefjord. 
Landing here to winter, a disease attacked his sailors, 
and Thorstein commanded coffins to be made for them, for 
said he " I will have all the bodies taken to Eriksfjord in the 
Summer;" but Thorstein himself fell a prey to the disease. 



34 KHt»DE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

By the kindness of a man who dwelt at Lysefjord how- 
eYer. Thorstein's ship was taken back to Eriksfjord bearing 
Gudride and the bodies of Thorstein and those of his cre\v 
who died. 

But another Yoxage to the new world was to be made. 
In the Autumn of the Year in which Gudride returned to 
Brattahlid, that is. in 1006, there came Thorfinn Karlsefne 
in his ship from Iceland. Becoming enamored of the fair 
widow he wooed and married her during the \\'inter. 

The discourse at Brattahlid often turned upon the dis- 
coYcrY of X^inland the Good, and many thought that a pro- 
fitable YOYage might be made thither ; hence, in the Spring, 
three Yessels were made ready for the expedition. Thorfinn 
took command of his own ship, and was accompanied by 
Gudride and other friends. -Snorri Thorbrandson, a man of 
distinguished lineage, commanded one of the Yessels ; an- 
other was'rommanded by Bjarni Grimolfson, and Thorhall 
Gamlason who had passed the Christmas at Brattahlid, and 
.the .ship in which Thorbjom, Gudride's father, formerly came 
from Iceland was made ready, and put under command of 
Thorw'ard, a son-in-law of Erik, who took with him his wife 
FreYdis. The minuteness of the account is striking. The 
ship which brought Thorbjom from Iceland, was an old one, 
as the cYent occurred many years before, and bears so little 
upon the narratiYe as to render it improbable that a ro- 
mancer would introduce it into his story. It seems, indeed. 
like one of the little details of a simple and truthful history. 

They first sailed to Westtrbygd, and thence in a south- 
erh" direction to Helluland, where thcY found foxes abund- 



£ARI,\ VOVAfiES TO AMERICA. 35 

ant ; and then still southerly for two days, when they reach- 
ed Markland, which was well wooded, as before mentioned by 
their predecessors. In this account is added to the descrip- 
tion of Markland, that it was well stocked with animals. 
Thus by putting the various accounts together of the places 
mentioned in the Sagas, we find that they more completely 
describe the places we have supposed them to refer to, a fact 
which greatly strengthens our belief in their historical ac- 
curacy. 

Leaving Markland they sailed South for two days and 
then turned to the southeast, and " found a land covered 
with wood, and many wild beasts upon it ; an island lay there 
out from the land to the southeast ; there killed they a bear 
and called the place Bear Island, but the land Markland." 
This island is an important addition to the account, and well 
applies to Cape Sable Island. 

" Thence sailed they .far to the Southward along the 
land and came to a ness ; the land lay upon the right ; they 
landed and found there upon the ness the keel of a ship" 
and recognized it as Kialarness. The strands they called 
Fdurdudstrands, the W'onderstrands, on account of their ex- 
tent and appearance. 

This is another important addition to the former des- 
criptions and well identifies Cape Cod. Let us read Hitch- 
cock's description of the Cape. "The dunes, or sand hills, 
which are often nearly or quite barren of vegetation and of 
snowy whiteness, forcibly attract attention on account of 
their peculiarity. As we approached the extremity of the 
Cape, the sand and barrenness increased ; and in not a few 



36 KHODK ISLAND HIS'lOKICAL SOCIKTV. 

places, it would need only a party of Bedouin Arabs to 
cross the traveller's path, to make him feel that he was in 
the depths of an Arabian or Lybian desert. "^- 

It has been claimed by Dr. Kohl, the eminent historian, 
that Thorfinn in sailing from Nova Scotia to Cape Cod, sail- 
ed along- the coast of Maine. He translates the account of 
this part of the voyage thus: " They coasted along a great- 
way to the Soiit/iWi'st having the land ai^cays on their star- 
boa I'd It 11 til they eauie to Kia/aniess."-'^ This is an erroneous 
rendering of the passage, which is as we have quoted it, 
namely "Thence sailed they far to the southward along the 
land, and came to a ness ; the land lay upon the right." 

It is certain!)' quite evident that there is not the least 
ground in the Sagas upon which to found Dr. Kohl's theory, 
which seems to be the result of a careless rendering of the 
original, by which it is made to appear that they sailed south- 
ward along the shore with the land always upon their right 
until they reached the Cape. To any one who will study the 
conformation of the coast, it will be seen that this theory is 

wholly untenable. 

The narrative continues that the land became indented 

with coves, one of which they entered with the ship. King 
Olaf Tryggvason had given Thorfinn two Scots, a man and 
a woman, who were swift of foot. These he put ashore very 
lightly clad, with orders to run over the country to the south- 
Ward for three days, and to then return. When they return" 
ed to the ship, they brought with them a bunch of 
grapes and an ear of corn to show what the land produced. 
Proceeding on their course, the ships reached a frith 
where lay an island, around which were powerful . currents. 



KAKI.N- \()V.\(;K.S lO A.MKKICA. T^^ 

The eider dueks were so plenty upon this island, that one 
could hardly walk upon it without breaking; the eggs of those 
birds. They called the island Straumey, or the Isle ot cur- 
rents. This whole account points to the Isle of Martha's 
Vineyard, or Cuttyhunk as the Straumey of the Norsemen. 
The currents here are still strong and rapid and are due to 
the (rulf Stream. The Islands in this vicinity were formerly 
so much frequented by wild fowl as to have been called 
Eee: Islands. The very fact that Leif and Thorvald did not 
mention these rapid currents is significant, that they passed 
across the mmith of, while Thorfinn sailed up Buzzard's 
Bay. 

This bay, Thorfinn called Straumfjord or Hay of cur- 
rents. Here they disembarked and made ])reparations fr)r 
passing the Winter. They had brought cattle for which they 
found pasturage and passed the Winter of lOOj-.S. They 
spent considerable time in explorations, and fishing ileclining, 
they were short of food for which the\^ ])ra)ed to (iod, 
but their prayers were not answered. 

Thorhall having absented himself from them, they sought 
and found him on a rock looking up to the sky and murmur- 
ing something. This was shortly explained when they found 
near by the body of a whale, which, Thorhall, who was 
not a Christian, claimed was sent in answer to his verses to 
Thor and not by Christ in answer to the Christians' prayer. 
The flesh of the whale had made them sick, and when they 
heard Thorhall's claim they cast the flesh of the whale back 
into the sea. The weather now improved ; they were able to 
get fish and eggs from the island as well as game. Thorhall 



T)S RHODK ISLAM) HISIOKICAL SOCIK'l'V. 

now wanted to cruise northward, while Tlioifinn preferred 
to explore southward, hence they separated, but onl)' eij;"ht 
men accompanied Thorhall. It is said the)' were overtaken 
by a storm and blown to the Irish Coast, where they were 
made slaves. 

Thorfinn, however, and the others sailed southward 
aloUL;" the coast and came to a ri\er which " ran out from the 
land through a lake into the sea." It was ver)- shallow and 
one could not enter the river without high water. They 
sailed up as far as the mouth and called the place Ho]). On 
the low lands they found wild wheat, growing, while on the 
high lands were vines. 

The name given 'by the Norsemen to this Hay is notice- 
able. It .signifies a recess formed by the confluence of a 
river and the sea, and perfectl}' describes Mount Hope Bay. 
We know that Indian words were frequently anglicised ; as 
in the instance of Fjepscot, which was transformed into 
Bishop's Cot. Latin scholars gave them a Latin form, as "in 
the case of Lacadia, which became Acadia, and Frenchmen 
transformed them into French words, which they resembled 
in sound. This was the case with the Indian word, Hauj), 
which was metamorphosed into Hope-. The question natu- 
rally arises, was the Indian name Haup derived from the 
Norse residents there, and so handed down .'' Whether this 
is true or not, the coincidence is remarkable. The 
Norsemen applied to the bay, which they described, and 
which answers perfectly to the description of Mount Ho])e 
Bay as before said, the name Hop ; the Indians .called it 
Haup, and it is on maps to-day, Hopi\ certainly a noticeable 
coincidence. 



EAKLV \"()^■A(;KS TO AMERICA. 39 

Anotlicr coincidence is quite noticeable. The Norse- 
men called the Cape, which they described a ness, or naze, 
and Cape Cod was called by the Indians Nesset or Nauset. 
Thorfinn's men found fish abundant in Hop Bay. By dig- 
ging holes near the shores they took many fiat fish which 
were left b)' the receding tide. 

They passed half a month in this pleasant place, 
having moved hither their cattle and other prt)perty. One 
morning they were surprised to see a number of canoes fill- 
ed with savages coming around the Cape from the South. 
Thorfinn raised up a white shield in token of peace. The 
natives who are described as being swarthy and ill favored, 
with coarse hair, large eyes and broad cheeks, gazed at them 
for a while in surprise, and then rowed away in the direction 
in which they came. 

Thorfinn and his people erected dwellings about the 
Lake and passed the Winter there ; but on the appearance 
of Spring they were again surprised one morning to see a 
large number of canoes coming around the Cape from the 
South. Thorfinn, as before, raised a white shield, and the 
Natives soon opened a barter, exchanging furs for red cloth, 
which they greatly coveted. They also wanted swords and 
spears, which Thorfinn refused to let them have. For a bit 
of red cloth they gave a whole skin, and when the sujDpl)' of 
the precious cloth ran low. it was cut up into still smaller 
bits and dealt out to them. Those who obtained stri])s of it 
b()und it about their heads. 

Thorfinn finally treated them to some milk souj), which 
they relished so well, that they gave back the red cloth for it. 



40 KHOOE ISI.AXI) III.S roKICAI. S()CIEr\'. 

and the chronicler says quaintly, "the traffic of the Skra^l- 
ings wound up by their bearing" awa)' their purchases in 
their stomachs ; but Karlsefne and his comixmions retained 
their goods and skins." It happened that a bull belonging 
to the Norsemen ran from the woods bellowing, which great- 
ly terrified the Savages, who fled in dismay. They were not 
again seen for three weeks, and then the}' reappeared in 
great numbers. A battle took place, which resulted in the 
retreat of the Savages. Thorfinn had lost some of his men 
in the fight, and although the country was good, they ap- 
prehended danger from the natives ; therefore they thought 
best to depart. 

They sailed northward along the Coast, and surprised 
five natives clothed in skins. They had with them vessels 
containing marrow mi.xed with blood. Thorfinn supjiosed 
them to be exiles from their people, and his men killed them. 
They afterwards came to a promontory abounding in wild 
animals as they judged from marks which they saw. If we 
have followed the Norsemen thus far correctly, this promon- 
torv should be the one upon which the city of Providence 
now stands. From here they went to Straumfjord, where 
they found abundance of food. Thorfinn now went West in 
his ship in search of Thorhall, leaving the other ship and 
crew at Straumfjord. Sailing northward around Kialarness, 
they went westward after passing that promontory, the land 
laying to the left. 

When they had sailed for some time they came to a 
river which "fell out of the land from east to west ; the\- put 
in to the mouth of the river, and la)' b)' its southern bank." 



KAKLV VOVAtiKS TO AMERICA. 4I 

Not finding- Thorhall they returned to Kialarness, from 
whence they sailed southward. The hills, which they saw as 
they sailed, they considered as being a part of the same range 
which they had seen at Hop. 

This statement should be particularly noted, as it forms 
an important link in the chain of evidence which we have 
adduced in support of the accuracy with which the Sagas 
describe Cape Cod and the regions laying both to the North 
and Southwest of that remarkable headland. 

The winter of 1009-10 was passed at Straumfjord. 
During the first Autumn of their arrival a son had been 
born to Thorfinn, whom he named after his friend Snorri, 
and he was now in his third year. In the Spring of 10 10, 
they set sail for Vinland, touching" at Markland, where they 
surprised several natives and succeeded in capturing two 
boys, whom they took to Eriksfjord where they were taught 
the Norse language and baptized. 

The other ship which accompanied Thorfinn, and which 
was commanded by Bjarni Grimolfson, was blown eastward 
and lost; a few only of the crew escaped in an open boat. 
In the Spring, Thorfinn and Gudride sailed for Norway, 
where they were received with great honor. The furs which 
Thorfinn had obtained from the natives were considered 
of much value. 

The ne.xt season they departed from Norway for Ice- 
land and passed the Winter at Reynisness. The ne.xt 
Spring, Thorfinn bought the Glaumbas estate, and there pass- 
ed the rest of his life. 



42 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

We now come again to authentic history, having span- 
ned a gap with the Sagas. The family of Thorfinn was 
illustrious in Iceland and his descendants numerous, many of 
them becoming well known in Scandinavian history. Gud- 
ride and Snorri — the son born in the new world — lived on 
his estate after the death of Thorfinn ; but when Snorri 
married, his mother took a voyage to Rome. During her 
absence Snorri, who was a devout Christian, built a church 
at Glaumbae. After her return from Rome, Gudride remain- 
ed with her son at Glaumbae for awhile, and then entered a 
convent, where she passed the remainder of her life. 

The next voyage to Vinland was made in loi i, and 
from this time voyages thither became frequent. In 1059 it 
is said that an Irish priest named John went there to Christ- 
ianize the natives and was murdered by them, while Erik, 
called the first bishop of Greenland, is also .said to have sail- 
ed for Vinland in 1 1 2 i . 

The latest account is of a voyage to Markland in 1347 
by a ship from Greenland. By this it is seen that inter- 
course with Vinland was kept up until the middle of the 
fourteenth century. 

This brings us near the date of the voyage claimed to 
have been made to the Western Continent by Nicolo Zeno, 
in 1380. The Venetians made frequent voyages to the 
North of Europe at this time, and had commercial in- 
tercourse with the Scandinavians. 

On the famous map, made after his return by Zeno, and 
which he hung up in his palace at Venice, a map which has 
been the subject of much curious study to geographers for 



EARLY VOYAGES TO AMERICA. 



43 



centuries, is depicted not only Greenland and the Farce 
Isles, but the coast of America. This map, it should be re- 
membered, was in existence in Venice long before the voy- 
age of Columbus was undertaken. 




^c^^fj^cozi^ 



It will of course be asked why the Norse did not per- 
manently colonize the new world. Large colonies could not 
have been established by them at this period, and if small 
ones were established it is probable that the colonists perish- 
ed or amalgamated with the natives, for about the year 1350, 
they must have been cut off entirely from the Greenland 
Colonies. 

About this time, the pestilence known as the black 
death raged through Europe with fatal violence, almost de- 



44 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIKT^■. 

populating vast districts, and is supposed to have raged in 
Greenland and greatly diminished its scattered population. 
It is known to have been most fatal at Trondheim, where it 
was introduced by an English ship, and this port held the 
principal trade of Greenland. Intercourse was entirely cut 
off with Greenland, and it is said that natives attacked the 
colony in 1379 and killed eighteen of the inhabitants of 
West by gd and carried away two boys, and that when as- 
sistance went from Eastbygd', not a human being was found. 

Torfasus says, that no attempt was made to regain 
Westbygd, and that the natives or Esquimaux occupied it in 
peace. The Eastbygd continued to exist sometime longer, 
and some intercourse with it continued through the 15th 
century when it ceased, and the few inhabitants either per- 
ished or amalgamated with the natives. 

The records which have been preserved of the voy- 
ages to Vinland, it has already been said, were disco\-ered 
in Iceland, and their preservation is doubtless due to the 
fact, that this land being so remote from the church, after 
Christianity was introduced there, such records were permit- 
ted to exist by the native priests, who were of, and sympa- 
thized with the people ; while in countries nearer the cen- 
tral power of the Church every ancient record was ruth- 
lessly destroyed. 

Anderson says, " for ages Iceland was destined to be- 
come .the sanctuary and preserver of the grand old literature 
of the North. Paganism prevailed there more than a cen- 
tury after the island became inhabited ; the old traditions 
were cherished and committed to memory, and shortly after 



EARL\' VOYAliKS TO AMERICA. . 45 

the introduction of Christianity the Norse Literature 
was ]nit in vvritinj;'. The ancient literature and traditions of 
Iceland, excel an)thini;' of the kind in Europe durini; the 
middle at;es. The orii;'inal Teutonic life lived longer and 
more independently in Norwa\-, and especially in Iceland, 
than elsewhere, and had more favorable oj^portun'ties to 
i;"ro\v and mature, and the Icelanclic literature is the full 
blown flower of Teutonic heathendom. This Teutonic 
heathendom, with its beautiful and poetical mytholoj;'}", was 
rooted out b\' superstitious priests in (iermany and the other 
countries inhabited by Teutonic peoples, before it had de- 
veloped sufficiently to ]3roduce blossoms, excepting- in Eng- 
land, where a kindred branch of the (lothic race rose to 
eminence in letters, and produced the Anglo Saxon litera- 
tm-e. "•■^^ 

It is to be noted, that in the account of the voyage 
of Thorfinn it is said, that Gudride after the death of her 
husband, made a pilgrimage to Rome. Ciudride was greatly 
interested in the new world, having attempted a vo)'age 
thither with her first husband, and afterwards having ac- 
companied her second husband, Thorfinn, thither, and she 
doubtless related her experiences at the Couit of Rome. 

The Pope was greatly interested in learning of nvw 
lands, which he could add to his jurisdiction, and he took 
great pains to collect reports and charts of such lands. 
Pontifical documents, the contents of which ha\'e come down 
to our times, reveal to us the course which Christianity pur- 
sued westward. Thus in 830, Pope Gregory IV. confirmed 
Auscarius as the first Archbishop of Hamburg. In 860, 



46 • RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Pope Nicholas invested him as his legate, with jurisdiction 
"over the Swedes, Danes and Slafs, as well as over any 
other nations in those parts." Eighty-eight years later, Pope 
Agapetus granted similar jurisdiction to Archbishop Adal- 
garus over Swedes, Danes and NoTivcgians. In 1022, Pope 
Benedict VIII. granted the same over Swedes, Danes, Nor- 
wegians and Icelanders. This is the first mention of Ice- 
land in the pontifical documents. Thirty-one years later, 
Pope Leo IX. confirmed these powers to Archbishop Adel- 
bert over Swedes, Danes, Norwegians, Icelanders, Lapland- 
ers and over Green/andr" This is the first mention of Green- 
land in the pontifical documents, while we learn that in 1 121 
Erik Upsi was granted similar powers over the countries be- 
fore mentioned, and in addition, Vinland. It is said that in 
1 121 Erik Upsi was appointed Bishop of Iceland, Greenland 
and Vinland. 

It is also acknowledged that Columbus was in Iceland in 
the year 1477, fifteen years before the discovery of America. 
The most remarkable record perhaps, and one which it seems 
Columbus must have seen, since he was a student and eager 
to obtain knowledge of new countries, is that of Adam of 
Bremen, who died in the year 1076. His book on the "Pro- 
pagation of the Christian Religion in the North of Europe" 
was published in 1073 and read by educated men through- 
out Europe. 

At the end of this book is a geographical treatise en- 
titled, " On the position of Denmark and other regions beyond 
Denmark," and having given an account of Denmark, Sweden, 
Norway, Iceland and Greenland, the author says, " Besides 



EARLV VOYAGES TO AMERICA. 47 

these, there is still another region, which has been visited by 
many, lying in that ocean, which is called Vinland, because 
vines grow there spontaneously, producing very good wine ; 
corn likewise springs up there without being sown," and 
'^T/iis ivc kuo7v not by fabulous conjcctuiw but front positive 
statements of the Danes. "-^ 



NOTES. 



1. Vide Athanasii Kircheri E. Soc. Jesu, Oedipus ^gyptiacus. 
Komse, MDCLII, p. 421, et seq. 

2. Vide Enquiries touching the Diversity of Languages and 
Heligions through the Chief Parts of the World. By Edward Brere- 
wood, London, MDCLXXIV, p. 117. 

3. Vide Histoire de la Nouvelle France, Par Marc Lescarbot, 
Paris, 1866, Vol.1, p. 23 et seq. 

4. Vide Memoires de Litterature Tires des Registres, De L'Aca- 
<demie Royale des Inscriptions, a Paris, MDCCLXI, Vol. 28, pp. 503- 
525. 

5. It is perhaps worth while to state that in the audience which 
listened to the reading of this paper by the author, at Columbia College 
in 1888, was Prince Roland Bonaparte, who was attending a session of the 
Anthropological Society. At the close of the reading, the Prince greatly 
interested those present by drawing with considerable facility upon the 
blackboard, representations of symbolical figures with which he had 
been familiar in China and which he stated he had been surprised to 
find depicted upon ancient monuments in Mexico. From this he inferred 
a connection at some period in the past between the people of China 
and the southwestern shores of the North American Continent. 

6. See these depicted in Pre-historic Races of the United States of 
America. By J. W. Foster, LL. D., Chicago, 1874. 

7. Vide Ibid, p. 97. 

8. Vide Monumenta Germanise Historica. Edited by Henry Pertz 
Hannoverae, 1846. Though written as stated previous to 1073, the work of 
Adam Von Bremen was not printed until 1579. 

9. Vide The Heimskringla, or Chronicle of the Kings of Norway, 
by Snorro Sturleson. Translated by Samuel Laing, Esq., London, 1844. 
This allusion to the subject is as follows: — "The same writer was Leif, 
the son of Eric the Red, with King Olaf, in good repute, and embraced 
■Christianity. But the summer that Gissur went to Iceland, King Olaf 



48 RHODE ISLAM) H ISTOK ICA I. SOCII'/IV. 



sent Leif to Greenland, in order to make known Christianity there. He 
sailed the same summer to Greenland. He found, in the sea, some peo- 
ple on a wreck and helped them; the same time discovered he Vinland 
the good, and came in harvest to Greenland. He had with him a priest 
and other clerks, and went to dwell at Brattahlid with Erik, his father. 
Men called him Leif the Lucky; but Erik, his father, said that these two 
things went one against the other, inasmuch as Leif had saved the crew 
of the ship, but brought evil men to Greenland, namely the priests." 

10. Vide Historia Vinlandise Antique, etc., Per Thormodum Tor- 
faeum, Hafnise, 1705. 

U. Vide Antiquitates Americanse Edidit Societas Regia Antiqua- 
riorium Septentrionalum. Studio et opera Caroli Christian) Rafn, Haf- 
niae, 1845. 

12. The following is an extract from a letter to the author 
from Amos Perry, Esq., of Providence, Superintendent of the Census of 
Rhode Island in 1885. "When this date was inserted, I had before 
me the first two propositions clearly established, and the following 
statement from Peter Easton's Diary of August 28, 1675:— "On Saturday 
night, forty years after the great storm in 16;35, came much the like 
storm, blew down our wind mill and did much harm." I knew that the 
mill destroyed was built of wood and belonged to the colonists, and 
hence was called our wind mill, while Arnold called his building ///// 
stone built wind mill. The former erected in 1663 by the colonists was 
blown down about the last of August, 1675. Of the latter, I believe our 
first information is derived from a Record of the Arnold family, dated 
July 13. 1677, which may be found in the New England Genealogical 
Register, 1, 1879, page 429. An inference (not however conclusive) may 
be drawn from Easton's language and the condition of the place, that 
our (i. e. the colonists) wind mill was the only one at Newport at that 
date. In the absence of information on this point, we are led to infer 
that the destruction of.the town mill gave rise to the Arnold mill, which 
in that case, could not have been completed before 1676, though the in- 
ferences from admitted facts, and from the absence of positive infor- 
mation, point to 1676 as the date of the erection of the Stone Mill." 

Amos Perry, 
Superintendent of the Census of 1885. 

13. Vide Mourt's Relation edited by Henry Martyn Dexter, Bos- 
ton, 1865, pp. 32-34. 

14. We are indebted for the cut of the Dighton Rock here shown 
to the kindness of Capt. J. W. D. Hall, Secretary of the Old Colony 
Historical Society, Taunton, Mass. It is doubtless the best deliniation 
of this celebrated relic which has yet been produced. The reader should 
compare it with those made by Danforth in 168Q; Cotton Mather in 1712: 
Greenwood in 1730; Sewall in 1768: Winthrop in 1778; Baylies and Good- 
win in 1700; Kendall in 1807: Gardner in 1812 and the Rhode Island His- 



EARLY VOYAGES TO AMERICA. 49 

torical Society in 1830, all depicted in the Antiquitates Americanse of 
Rafn before mentioned. Dighton Rock is now in possession of the 
above society. 

15. Vide The North American Review for 1838, pp. 161-203. 

16. Vide History of the United States. By George Bancroft, Bos- 
ton, 1841, Vol. I., p. 56. 

17. Dicuil in De Mensura Orbis Terrse, shows that the Faroe Is- 
lands were known to the Irish as early as 725 and Iceland in 795. Vide 
Antiquitanes Americanae, p. 204. 

18. Vide History of the Voyages and Discoveries made in the 
North, by John Reinhold Forster, Dublin, 1786. Also History of the 
Northmen and Danes and Norsemen from the Earliest Times, etc. By 
Henry Wheaton, London, 1831. 

19. For an excellent translation of the Sagas reference may be 
made to Voyages of the Northmen to America, Prince Society, Boston, 
1877. Edited by the Reverend Edmund F. Slafter, A. M. 

20. In going to the ship the horse which he had mounted, stum- 
bled causing the old man to fall off and bruise his foot, which discour- 
aged him from attempting the voyage. 

21. Dr. Thomas H. Webb, secretary of the Rhode Island Histori- 
cal Society, in Antiquitates Americanae, p. 368. 

22. Vide Report on the Geology of Massachusetts, p. 96, et seq. 

23. Vide Documentary History of the State of Maine by J. G. 
Kohl, Portland, 1869, Vol. 1. p. 71. 

24. Vide An Historical Sketch of the Discovery of America by 
the Norsemen, by Rasmus B. Anderson, A. M., Chicago, 1874, p. 56, et 
seq. 

25. Vide Migne's Patrology of the Latin Fathers, Vols. 119, 133, 139, 
14:3. Archbishop Adelbert was raised to the see of Hamburg in 1045 and 
died in 1072. Adam of Bremen says of him, that, "he was so gentle, so 
generous, so hospitable, so desirous of divine and human glory, that 
little Bremen, having become known by his viitue like another Rome, 
was devoutly resorted to from all quarters of the earth, especially from 
the North. Among the comers were Icelanders, Greenlanders and 
Arcadians, who came to ask for preachers. " Vide Gesta Pontilicum 
Ecclesiae Hamburgensis. Book III., ch. 33; also cf. Book IV., ch. 30. 

26. Vide Monumenta Germanise Historica, edited by George 
Henry Pertz, Hannoverae, 1846. Tome VII. The following is perhaps 
nearer the original. Adam speaking of his friend and patron Adelbert 
says, " He spoke also of another island found in that ocean called Win- 
land, because vines grow there spontaneously, yielding excellent wine. 
For that fruit grew there sijoiitaneously we know not by fabulous 
report, but for certain, from the reports of the Danes. " 



■a. >^^is^;t i jasgaMB^ 



^ .:^ j^ ^ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

!; Mil nil III nil III II I! Ill mil 



011 236 463 8 



